to Succeed in your Business . . . #1

Sadly, 25% of businesses fail within their first year and and 60% within five years. So, if you’re thinking about starting a business or you’ve recently made the leap, how can you optimize your chances of success? What is the single most important factor in determining your success? Here are answers of 10 successful business leaders from the Young Entrepreneur’s Council.

1. Have a Great Mindset. Your mindset drives so much in business: the risks you take, opportunities you pursue, challenges to tackle, confidence level & vision. The great thing is that even if you have some doubts & fears now, your mindset can change and grow with you as an entrepreneur. The things that I was afraid to try, are now easy to manage. I understand much better why entrepreneurship is an excellent avenue for personal growth and development.

2. Create Great Value !!! Purchase decisions almost always come down to “value” — customers must realize a benefit from working with your business. That can mean a multitude of things, such as cost savings, convenience, reliability, increased quality, etc. Effectively providing “value” is integral to the long-term success of your company. Not only does it assist in retaining your current customers, but also provides the highest-quality referrals you you need for when attempting to gain new business.

3. Execute your Plan. Hands down, continuing to execute to accomplish your goals is the single most important factor in making your business a success. Without continual execution, businesses sink. However, executing on the right goals will not only keep you from sinking, it will help you excel

4. Build a Great Leadership Team. We used to invest in technology. Then it was marketing. Then we woke up and realized it was all about the people. Bringing in the best, seasoned, Director/VP-level talent over the past 18 months has really helped the owners bring the company’s goals back in focus. Do your systems, workflow & technology always need to be evolving? You bet. But at a certain point in company’s growth, you will NEED an experienced leader helping you architect those things, if you want to go to the next level.

5. Hire the Right People. I was telling my team just last week that regardless of how much we market or sell, if we don’t create good products, then we can’t progress. It’s people who create those sites, so hiring the best people (whoever you need to help your business succeed) is vital to keeping the engine of your business running & accelerating.